


The End

by EphemeralEntity



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Sadstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 21:24:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EphemeralEntity/pseuds/EphemeralEntity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You knew it would come to this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this around the time everyone died, but it's very loosely based on what actually happened.  
> It's written from Dave's POV

You knew it would come to this. The knowledge of your bitter end was always there, in the back of your mind. Some days, it was easy to ignore. Other times, it would hit you so hard that you couldn’t drag yourself out of bed, and the subtleties of time completely eluded you.

It was those same subtleties that had brought the unwelcome realization that all your sacrifice would be for nothing, and that you weren’t anywhere near done with the pain. You would die a thousand times and know that each death was just as worthless as the one before it. But you couldn’t avoid a single one of them. Fate and alpha timelines and the twisted workings of time determined that.

So you would just have to grin and bear it. Or rather, stare placidly and bear it. The cool kid image still had to be maintained. There was no way that you would betray any emotion, lest the rest of your doomed group would suspect what you already knew. It would be unfair to allow any of them to know the pain that you dealt with constantly.

That’s what knights do; they suffer for the ones they love.

Nothing had prepared you for this, though. A thousand deaths, immeasurable amounts of pain, constant disappointment; none of it even came close to this.

Seeing their eyes widen in unison when the truth of the situation finally dawned on them made any grief you had experienced before pale in comparison. They all knew what you knew, and seeing them suffer in the face of it made the former ache in your heart amplify so that you could barely stand. None of you deserved this! The game had chosen you, for God knows what stupid reason, and you had been put through ridiculous amounts of pain, only to have it all end in failure. What was the point?

You would consider suicide, if your life hadn’t already ended in the hands of countless different foes, and if you weren’t currently facing what would shortly be your final demise.

You feel warmth at your side as Jade turns towards you, her face a mask of barley concealed suffering. She whispers your name and her voice cracks as she collapses against you, sobbing shamelessly. You grip her fiercely. Jade looks up at you and you meet her gaze through your ever-present shades.

“Just for the record, Jade, I always though Karkat’s shipping chart was pretty accurate,” you say in a weak attempt to lighten the oppressive mood.

Her lips collide with yours, and though you were expecting this, it takes you a moment to gather yourself and kiss back. Your hands tangle in her hair and you wish you could just stay like this.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and reluctantly pull away from Jade, though she keeps her arms wrapped tightly around your waist. John and Rose stand there, holding hands, and it’s apparent that they’ve just gone through a similar ordeal. Before you can utter a single word, John has enveloped everyone in his arms.

The four of you have been to hell and back, but you’ve been there for each other the whole time. Images of the past months flash through your head in quick succession and you can’t help the sob that racks your body. You tighten your grip on them but look up to see the other twelve one last time.

You don’t even know all their names, but you know what they’re all feeling right now. They’ve been here even longer than you have.

There are so many of you here; your ecto-parents/siblings, your friends, the trolls, people you consider friends, and some who you consider family. That you’re all going to die together is kind of a romantic idea, actually. If only that made it less painful.

You wish you could say goodbye to each of them, though for all you know, you’ll meet them in some kind of afterlife. But you don’t know what comes next, if anything does at all. You’ve never really believed in God and the game has solidified your atheist leanings into actual beliefs. You can see the appeal of religion now, though. There isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to be able to extend your time with these people, even for one more day.

You face your death as bravely as is possible. You look it in the eyes and you don’t let your face reveal the pure terror you feel. Blinding white light surrounds you and you feel yourself and the ones around you lift off the ground. You feel yourself come undone and all your senses leave you one at a time. Soon, there is nothing left except for infinite darkness.

There’s one second where you think that you’re waking up from a dream, and that none of this was real. But in the next, everything is gone.

Who knew death could be so gentle?


End file.
